Welcome back to your monthly round-up from the ICO, featuring the latest opportunities for your cinema, festival, or film society and industry highlights from the UK and beyond.
ICO News
- The results of our recent survey on capital investment for film exhibition have been published, revealing that almost a third of UK cinemas do not believe they could remain operational if they could not access capital funding in the next 3-5 years. For the complete results and analysis, read the report on our website now.
- We welcomed the recent report from the House of Commons’ Culture, Media and Sport Committee on the current landscape and needs of British Film and High-End Television. Learn more by reading the response from ICO director Catharine Des Forges, and visit the UK Parliament website for the full committee report and list of recommendations.
- The ICO are recruiting a new Chair of the Board of Trustees. This role is a great opportunity for a dynamic individual to support the vital work we do in delivering world-class exhibition training, audience development, equitable access to culture, support for new filmmaking talent and advocacy for the independent film sector nationwide. Find out more at an online information session at 12pm on 8 May.
Apply by 10am, Monday 19 May. - Passes are now available for Young Audiences Screening Days, our essential event for film exhibitors looking to attract and inspire young audiences, taking place on 9 July (online) and 11 July (HOME, Manchester). Capacity at HOME is limited, so we recommend securing your passes early. Discover the full event details and register today!
- The ICO is seeking paid guest curators to provide session ideas for our upcoming Young Audiences Screening Days event. If you have an idea for a presentation, film programme or panel which could increase the number of children and people aged 16–25 engaging with British, independent and world cinema, we’d love to hear from you! Learn more and submit your ideas by 29 April.
- We’ve also announced the dates and locations of all our upcoming Screening Days events! Taking you all the way to next March, find out the full details via our Screening Days page.
- Explore The Future of Care in our new The Cinema of Ideas event, with a screening and panel discussion available to access for free now. The programme includes the chance to screen Care, a new documentary entirely filmed by staff at a care home in the North East, and to hear from those with first-hand experience of working within a care environment.
- The ICO blog is open for submissions, sharing insights on topics such as accessibility, audience development, and new exhibition initiatives. If you have an idea for an article which you’d like us to commission, please read our blog guidelines to find out more.
Resources, Opportunities and Events
- BFI FAN’s Too Much: A Season of Melodrama sprint event took place earlier in April, and session recordings and notes are now available, providing useful starting points for members planning activities around the season.
- Session recordings from BFI FAN CON are now available, sharing valuable insights and case studies from the BFI Film Audience Network and beyond.
- Film Camp is Film Hub Midland’s film exhibitor training day at Flatpack Festival in Birmingham on 15 May, with sessions including How to craft a Killer Marketing Strategy, Rethinking Cinema Spaces for Communities, and How to host Sensory Adapted Screenings.
- Reclaim the Frame’s An Army of Women tour continues until the end of April, with special screenings (featuring Q&As with director Julie Lunde Lillesæter) taking place at venues across England and Wales.
- Cinema Rediscovered’s Reframing Film Sessions have just been announced, providing an opportunity to share experiences, reflect on and re-imagine how we present cinema of the past. The event is for BFI FAN members and will take place on 23 July at Watershed, Bristol.
- As Cinema for All continues its ‘100 Years of Community Cinema’ celebrations, it is thrilled to announce a Gala event on 20 September and funding through the BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund to support grassroots film organisations hosting centenary events. Follow Cinema for All for updates and details on how to apply once the fund has launched.
- Queer East’s Industry Day will take place at BFI Southbank on Sunday, 4 May. This full-day event will feature talks, panels, and a networking reception, and is open to emerging curators, filmmakers, community facilitators, film students, researchers and like-minded industry professionals.
- The BFI has announced their May seasons, which includes “Black Debutantes: A Collection of Early Works by Black Women Directors”, a season celebrating the Black Women and femme filmmakers past and present. Tickets for all screenings and events are available now.
- The Space is hosting a webinar that explores how to put together a successful funding application by communicating your work and generating excitement. The webinar will take place at 11am on Thursday, 8 May, and is available to book now.
- Indigo Ltd have published the Access Culture 2025 report, which highlights the experiences of disabled audiences engaging with cultural venues across the UK. Read the full report findings via their website, or catch up on the Access Culture webinar to find out more.
- Open City Documentary Festival returns in May, championing the art of creative documentary with screenings taking place across London throughout the month.
Good Reads
- Missed the latest ICO blogs? Catch up with the team from Showroom’s time at our Spring Audience Development Day, and from freelance screen heritage facilitator Louise Conway’s experiences at the FIAF Programming Winter School.
- Read Screen Daily report on the ways France nurtures a vibrant arthouse film market by creating a dialogue between cinemas, film professionals and audiences.
- Variety pays tribute to Palestinian filmmaker Fatma Hassona, protagonist of the Cannes-bound “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk”, killed in Gaza.
- Hear from Watershed’s Clare Reddington on the steps the organisation took to support democracy during a divisive event at her venue.
- Discover the Fellowship Inn, an 86-seat cinema in the cellar of a Lewisham pub!
- Criterion Collection reassesses the Dogme 95 movement, thirty years on from its inception.
Image credit: Still from Care, directed by Alastair Cole. Courtesy of Tongue Tied Films. Part of The Future of Care, a Cinema of Ideas event.